Twee' is an adorable character, in the first
allegorical picture book from Susie's "Between You And Me Series."She is
a little pine tree who believes everything belongs to her - including
the right to complain. When a boulder drops down unexpectedly in front
of her and blocks her view, she is more than frustrated-she is stuck!
Later a violent storm alters her thinking and her feelings begin to
change. Join Twee' as she makes this inward journey to learn about
herself and how to relate to another who is different and separate but
who has purpose, no matter how humble. Twee' means you and me!

Nayuleska's thoughts

This
is a gem of a read! As you can see from the cover the illustrations are cute,
and are also full of movement - when it rains on 'Twee I felt like the rain was
moving on the page. It's a great idea to deal with the issue of being grateful
through using a non-human life form, as a reader I wanted to bop Twee' on the
head and tell her to stop being so fussy. It took a while but eventually she
does see the blessings of what she has, instead of desiring what she doesn't
have.

Suggested
read

For
other sweet tales with good morals check out The Fox and Itby Beanie
Lei (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)

Twee’ is a bit older now, but is she wiser? In this second picture book-allegory from
Susie’s “Between You And Me Series,” this young pine tree feels useless because
she has nothing to share. Twee’ notices the apple trees in the valley, offer
many gifts, which draw children and adults to visit them. However, the people
don’t even see Twee’, and she begins to wish she were an apple tree. After many
seasons, Twee’ is ready to give up, when an unusual event changes her mind.
Join Twee’ as she journeys to discover that by being herself and different she
has something special to contribute.

Nayuleska's thoughts

Having
met Twee' already in the first book (link in the suggested read below) I was
super excited to see what would happen next in her life. I think that many
readers will be able to relate to Twee's feelings of being no good to anyone -
it takes others to show Twee' what she has to offer people. I cried when that
moment came! I'm in love with the girl's cute outfit - all frilly &
feminine. It goes to show that everyone has a special talent that helps
brighten someone's life.

Suggested
read

Be
sure to read Twee' which introduces Twee for the first time - she's
quite a madam in the beginning!

Guest Blog Post

I'd like to thank Susie for wanting to chat about the importance of reading aloud to children - I'm sure you'll find her post as interesting as I do.

Susie E. Caron’s Bio:

Susie
E. Caron M.A., a psychologist, entrepreneur, speaker, and author of
Twee' and I Am Twee’, from the 'Between You and Me' series, draws from
her years of experience to #Translate Childhood to Adults Who Care. In
her allegory picture books for children and adults, she illustrates how
our thoughts and feelings change and impact our relationships. Susie
enjoys speaking and sharing with children and adults. Her unique gifts
include her authentic presence, an ability to connect at the deepest
levels of need and want and wisdom to share. In every endeavor, Susie
helps kids and adults to enjoy each other by connecting with less
frustration and with more personal freedom and fun!

I write picture book allegories for children and adults. I also encourage
parents to read aloud daily to their children because doing so provides
intellectual, physical and emotional benefits. We parents and teachers
often find it easy to read to our little ones. However, sometimes we
slow down or stop reading to them when they begin to read to themselves.
We enjoy how they become engrossed in a good book on their own.
However, we shouldn’t stop reading to them. Our children’s intellectual,
physical and emotional development is enhanced when we also read aloud
to them. In this article, I share some benefits that may surprise you.

Reading
aloud helps kid’s brains to grow. The intellectual stimulation created
by listening to a story improves receptive language and builds working
vocabulary. It also helps develop children’s ability to understand and
express complex sentence structure. Children understand stories, which
are read aloud, at much higher levels than if they read to themselves.
Parents can also introduce kids to ideologies, cultures, environments
and stories about people, places and things. When parents choose books
to read aloud to children they can expose their kids to a wide variety
of important life lessons.

Physical closeness while reading to
children is another benefit. When children are little and at a
pre-reading level, they enjoy cuddle time with a book. However, some of
the opportunity to cuddle and obtain physical closeness is lost as kids
grow older. These kids often think or feel that it’s not cool to be
cuddled or hugged. All children and adults need a certain amount of
hugs, or appropriate touch each day. Adults can use reading to kids as
an opportunity to provide that, and to enjoy continued, acceptable,
physical contact. Parents who read really cool stories to kids find that
they can sit close to one another. This feels more natural and
agreeable. In fact, older kids sometimes will read to younger siblings
in order to meet the need for appropriate touch!

Children’s
emotional development is also enhanced when parents read aloud. Studies
have shown that children who are read to, and who continue to read,
develop greater empathy than children who don’t have this opportunity.
Stories help children and adults to identify and empathize with
characters and situations. Kids may then express their thoughts and
feelings to the adult reader. Open and curious conversation between
parents and kids may also develop closer emotional bonds. The bonding,
which occurs over shared stories, can develop deeper connections between
parents and children that may last throughout their lives.

Read
aloud together! My books, Twee’ and I Am Twee’, as well as other good
children’s books, provide adults with infinite opportunity to talk with
kids about their thoughts and feelings. This creates better
understanding and deeper bonds. Our children are only with us a short
time. They allow us to read to them for fewer years than that. Take the
time. Read together and enjoy your children. Reading aloud to kids
provides wonderful benefits that last a lifetime!

I hope you
enjoyed this article and will let me know by contacting me or share the
love on FaceBook, Twitter and Pinterest. Feel free to visit my author
page and buy my books at http://www.SusieCaronOnAmazon.com. Thank you.

2 comments:

Susie E. Caron
said...

Thank you Nayu! You are a sweet heart and a wonderful host. Thanks for the reviews of my first two picture books in the "Between You and Me" series. (I really enjoyed how you got into the emotions in the stories. Did you really want to bob her on her head? I love your comments! Thanks for allowing me to guest post as well. It was fun!

Essential Review Policy Information

Currently not accepting books for review until April 2018

This review policy change is due to winter being my worst time of year health wise, and it's just easier to put a suspension on accepting new reviews until I know I will be able to do them. Click on this link to see the full explanation

Exceptions are if you are an author I really like/or are a picture book!You will know who you are. If you don't mind a wait, do email me to see if I'll make an exception - I may depending on the book.

I accept books, ebooks, + audiobooks frompublishers, publicists, and authors. I also accept independently published books.

Other review items I'm happy to consider:jigsaw puzzles, apps for both android and iPad, candles, yarn, and chocolate.

Hi, I'm Nayu!

About me

About me I'm a UK book reviewer who founded NRC in 2009. As well as books I'm addicted to anime, love gaming, and spend time coaxing novels out of my Muse. I'm at the early stage of the path to publication, and will release all news when I have it! ^o^ Sometimes there will be days without posts because I have to deal with chronic illness and chronic pain gremlins. Please be patient in the down times.

Thanks to my passion for languages I like to rest up watching anime in English, French, and Japanese. I also adore gaming and cross stitch. My crochet hobby has evolved in to my Etsy store and blog Nayu's Crochet Dreams, where I sell handmade blankets, dishcloths and other crochet goods.

My cat Belle loves curling on my lap when I read, although she gets a bit crabby when I crochet because she doesn't like the yarn draping over her. Needless to say she doesn't get a say in the matter!

I hope you enjoy Nayu's Reading Corner, which has lots to offer whatever you're interested in.

short 'n' sweet= a shorter than normal review for when I'm low on energy/ill. Full reason is in this post. It bears no reflection on the book's brilliance. I truly would write more if I could.

Apart from books, which are copyright to the publisher, and pictures which I say are mine, all other pictures are found online through a Google search. I don't own the right to any of them.

Affiliates:I'm in the slow process of removing affiliate links. All affilate links will be marked as such, and if you choose to buy a book through an affiliate I get a tiny smidge of money. None of my opinions change because I'm using affiliates.

Nayu, 13th March 2017

Disclaimer

I am fortunate that most of the books I currently review are received from authors and publishers.

At the beginning of each review I put either Review copy (received from authors/publishers), Personal Copy (purchased by myself) or Library Copy (borrowed from the library).

Wherever the book comes from, I always write an honest review, explaining what I do like, as well as what I don't. I don't receive any payment for these reviews.